Bike lane rammed through to public
It is interesting how some must resort to insults to get their point across. It is a shame that Leda Carter has missed the boat on the core issue of the bike critics.
It has nothing to do with the benefits of bikes versus cars or climate change.
It has to do with spending millions of dollars of taxpayer money without approval of the taxpayer. The bike lane was rammed through in a sham process.
The former council and city staff went out of their way to create a process to avoid a public referendum on the issue. A “yes” vote of tiny fraction of the population is used as overwhelming support. It was like asking 10 people out of 35,000 and seven of them are part of the cycling club.
They rammed this through without true public consent of a multimillion-dollar project. Their own community plan has a projected cost of more than $25 million for bike lanes.
The South Okangaan Events Centre was $80 million and a referendum was put to the public. This city is now living through what happens when a self-righteous council ignores the will of the public.
Mayor Julius Bloomfield and Coun. Campbell Watt were part of the ground zero Victory Church fiasco. The public overwhelming told them no.
Instead, they approved a wet facility in our downtown core. This decision has led to the crisis our city faces today. The critics of the bike lane have always been about the process to spend millions of taxpayer dollars without the true input of the public. It makes no difference as to what the money is spent on — bike lanes, fence posts, etc.
The former city council borrowed from the surplus of the electrical reserve in the past year to pay for unapproved pet projects. How about an audit of where this money was spent as the city staff are all crying poverty in the electrical funding?
I would suggest to Leda Carter that she know what the argument is about, otherwise I refer you the following words. "It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
Mike Hawley Penticton